The present invention provides a novel combination therapy for application to the treatment of neoplastic diseases.
The therapy is based on the sequential or concurrent administration of a platinum compound and a tellurium and/or a selenium compound in combination to provide an improved chemotherapeutic regimen for the treatment of neoplastic diseases or the treatment of malignant neoplasms. It has been discovered that the combination of a platinum compound and a tellurium and/or a selenium compound significantly reduces the development of tumor volume over what would be predicted from administration to tumor-infected mammals of either a platinum compound alone, or the tellurium and/or selenium compound, alone.
It has also been suggested in the prior art to use tellurium compounds in combination with other chemotherapeutic agents for the treatment of such malignant neoplasms. In fact, it is known that a combination of ammonium trichloro(dioxoethylene-O,O-tellurate (AS101) and the known chemotherapeutic agent cyclophosphamide (CYP) shows synergism in extending the rate of survival of mice infected with Madison lung carcinoma tumor cells. Cancer Res. 51 (5)1499-1503 (1991).
It has now been discovered, and is the subject of the present invention, that a novel combination of the platinum compound cisplatin and a tellurium and/or a selenium compound shows an unexpectedly strong synergistic effect on the reduction in tumor volume in mice infected with cells of the solid tumor P388 and in L1210 leukemia.
Such findings are unexpected because the use of either the platinum compound alone or the tellurium and/or selenium compound alone at the same respective dosages produce anti-tumor effects which are shorter lasting and incrementally much closer to the saline control.
The present invention is concerned with a novel treatment regimen which combines a platinum compound and a tellurium and/or selenium compound. It also contemplates a novel composition with anti-neoplastic activity comprising a combination of a platinum compound and a tellurium and/or selenium compound. Among the preferred features of the invention are regimens and novel therapeutic combinations wherein the ratios of the platinum compound and tellurium and/or selenium compound provide synergistic activity, especially in the reduction of solid tumor growth.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide novel therapeutic regimens and compositions which are based on the sequential or concurrent administration of novel combination of a platinum compound and a tellurium and/or selenium compound to mammals afflicted with neoplasms.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a novel method for the treatment of neoplastic diseases which uses a particular dose of a novel combination of a platinum compound and a tellurium and/or selenium compound.
These and other objects of the invention will become apparent from a review of the specification.